(19)
(11) EP 1 049 219 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
08.10.2003 Bulletin 2003/41

(43) Date of publication A2:
02.11.2000 Bulletin 2000/44

(21) Application number: 00303399.0

(22) Date of filing: 20.04.2000
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)7: H01S 3/00, H01S 3/067
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE
Designated Extension States:
AL LT LV MK RO SI

(30) Priority: 30.04.1999 US 303383

(71) Applicant: LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974-0636 (US)

(72) Inventors:
  • Digiovanni, David John
    Montclair, New Jersey 07042 (US)
  • Legrange, Jane Deborah
    Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (US)

(74) Representative: Watts, Christopher Malcolm Kelway, Dr. et al
Lucent Technologies (UK) Ltd, 5 Mornington Road
Woodford Green Essex, IG8 0TU
Woodford Green Essex, IG8 0TU (GB)

   


(54) Optical waveguide lasers and amplifiers with pump power monitors


(57) In accordance with the invention, a pumped waveguide device comprising a pump waveguide (14) and an active waveguide (13) is provided with a pump power monitor by disposing between the pump source (12) and the active waveguide, an indicator waveguide (18) having a core doped with a material sensitive to the pump light. For example the material can fluoresce in response to pump light or absorb pump light and generate heat. Pump power is then accurately measured by the fluorescence or heat from the indicator waveguide. Since the fluorescence or heat is generated in the doped core, the measurement is sensitive to the pump power that will enter the active waveguide and is relatively insensitive to changes in mode distribution. Exemplary embodiments include monitored cladding pumped fiber lasers, amplifiers and light sources.






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